Genre
1) What example is provided of why visual iconographies are so important?
Visual iconographies are significant because they usually indicate what sort of genre there is. Iconographies work together to indicate the genre. Both Star Wars and Star Trek use recognisable iconographies of Science fiction but they are not used in the same way. Star Trek uses a more futuristic setting which relates to a Utopian world of the future. Where as, Star Wars universe is less ideal and some parts are portrayed as quite rough.
Visual iconographies are significant because they usually indicate what sort of genre there is. Iconographies work together to indicate the genre. Both Star Wars and Star Trek use recognisable iconographies of Science fiction but they are not used in the same way. Star Trek uses a more futuristic setting which relates to a Utopian world of the future. Where as, Star Wars universe is less ideal and some parts are portrayed as quite rough.
2) What examples are provided of the importance of narrative in identifying genre?
Soap operas and Sit-coms use different narrative codes, sit-coms tend to use an episodic narratives whilst soap operas use a multi-strand narrative. Soap operas conventionally has a narrative that follows a protagonist as they deal with domestic problems. Sit-coms often use a comical approach to these domestic issues which leads to a quick resolution. The comical aspect helps differentiate itself from soap operas even though they may have some similar conventions.
3) What is the difference between character representation in action movies and disaster movies?
Disaster movies value team work and collaboration.Families sticking together and the value of it is a generic code in soap operas. The ideology behind it is that characters who do not value families are punished and those who do are rewarded. Where as, in Action texts individual strength is more of a focal point. The 'lone wolf' is a convention of an action text. The hero is separated from the rest of the characters in order to show that the hero himself saved the world and fought villains. Disaster movies tend to place the hero within a group and show each members strength. Disaster movies show that with everyone working together they can solve any problem.
Disaster movies value team work and collaboration.Families sticking together and the value of it is a generic code in soap operas. The ideology behind it is that characters who do not value families are punished and those who do are rewarded. Where as, in Action texts individual strength is more of a focal point. The 'lone wolf' is a convention of an action text. The hero is separated from the rest of the characters in order to show that the hero himself saved the world and fought villains. Disaster movies tend to place the hero within a group and show each members strength. Disaster movies show that with everyone working together they can solve any problem.
4) What are the different ways films can be categorised according to Bordwell?
- Period or Country, e.g. US films of the 1930s
- Director / Star, e.g. Ben Stiller Films
- Technical Process, e.g. Animation
- Style, e.g. German Expressionism;
- Series, e.g. Bond;
- Audience, e.g. Family Films
5) List three ways genre is used by audiences.
- They use their prior knowledge of the genre to anticipate whether or not they will enjoy a text
- They use their knowledge of genres to reject a text
- Audiences compare a text through it's shared characteristics with another.
6) List three ways genre is used by institutions or producers.
-Producing the text
-Attracting an audience
-Marketing the text
7) What film genre is used as an example of how genres evolve? What films and conventions are mentioned?
The Gangster genre is used as an example to show how genre has been altered over time. Even though they have similarities with the modern equivalent, the modern approach focuses more on what the audience would like to see. New Gangster films share codes with traditional ones they choose to stay up to date with modern audiences interests and the changes in culture.
Read Media Factsheet 126 - Superheroes: A Genre Case Study and answer the following questions:
1) List five films the factsheet discusses with regards to the Superhero genre.
The 5 films discussed are: Superman, Batman Forever, X-Men, Spider-Man 3 and the Dark Knight Rises.
2) What examples are provided of how the Superhero genre has reflected the changing values, ideologies and world events of the last 70 years?
An example is of Superman battling Lex Luther who is a wealthy businessman and media magnate. This character appears first in the 1930s and then again in the 1978 film. It is also significant that Superman was raised in the rural community of Smallville. This sets him up in conflict with greedy, city values. Both timeframes suffered economic depressions. In the 1930s, the blame for the Great Depression was put on the greed of capitalists and the media was identified as being untrustworthy as wealthy capitalists ran it. This anti-corporate feeling was also around at the end of the 70s as industrial disputes put managers and workers in conflict and the West continued the process of industrialising agriculture and de-industrialising manufacturing... both leading to unemployment in the working classes.
3) How can Schatz's theory of genre cycles be applied to the Superhero genre?
Innovation: The visual codes for the superhero genre were established from the comic books. As soon as film and TV began to use the comic book characters other codes and conventions regarding the presentation of the genre in moving image were set. This can be seen in the early superhero shorts of the 1940s.
Classical: By the 1950s the superhero genre could be seen to be in its classical stage with the codes and conventions being replicated in the film and TV programmes of the tim
Parody: Batman (1966) was intentionally funny and wouldn’t let its audience take the superhero too seriously. It had an ironic tone that flagged up the daft nature of the genre and allowed the audience to enjoy the awareness of that. After Batman, the classical and parodic versions of the genre were largely located in children’s animation, from Spider-Man whose animated adventures were on TV from the late 1960s, to the less than serious versions of the genre in Mighty Mouse (a perennially popular cartoon first made in the 1940s), Atom Ant (from the late 60s), Captain Caveman (from the late 70s) amongst many, many more.
Deconstruction: Superman (1978) started a new cycle in the superhero genre with technology leading the innovation with special effects creating more realistic visual ‘miracles’. Both the Superman series and Tim Burton’s Batman franchise treated the fantastic world of the superhero seriously as in the classical era but they also used the camp comedy and a tongue-in-cheek approach of parody showing how the genre had been deconstructed and repackaged in an attempt to revitalise the genre and help it find a new audience - successfully in the case of these two franchises. This brings the genre back to a period of innovation when new ideas and new developments create interesting new ideas within the genre
Finally, carry out your own genre analysis using the model provided by media theorist Daniel Chandler. Choose a film or TV text and answer the following questions:
*Daniel Chandler suggests definitions of genre tend to be based on the notion that they constitute particular conventions of content (such as themes or settings - iconography) and/or form(including structure and style) which are shared by the texts which are regarded as belonging to them.*
General
1) Why did you choose the text you are analysing?
I chose this text because I enjoyed the film and I wasn't quite expecting the film to have comedy aspects to it because it looks like a thriller/ horror movie.
2) In what context did you encounter it?
I heard about it on Snapchat's Daily mail story that Bella Thorne was starring in a new Netflix Original movie.
3) What influence do you think this context might have had on your interpretation of the text?
It had a positive influence because I thought the movie will be really good.
4) To what genre did you initially assign the text?
Initially I assigned this film to the Horror genre because of the film poster but when I watched the trailer I assigned the Comedy genre.
5) What is your experience of this genre?
I like all genres but I don't really watch Horror movies often but the fact that there was an comedy aspect to the film made it more enjoyable to watch.
6) What subject matter and basic themes is the text concerned with?
This film addresses the idea of stereotypes of babysitters and that some babysitters don't do their job properly while the children's parents are not home. This supports the fact that the babysitters in this film were trying to kill the little boy.
7) How typical of the genre is this text in terms of content?
It is quite typical of the Horror genre because the babysitters are trying to murder the child by using all sorts of techniques and the comedy aspect fits in well because the child is smarter than the babysitters and escapes death several times.
8) What expectations do you have about texts in this genre?
I expected things to get gruesome and that there will be a lot of blood being seen within this movie.
9) Have you found any formal generic labels for this particular text (where)?
A critic said: "Loads of appeal here for teen horror-comedy fans: attractive teen characters, inept adults, comic hysteria, childhood nostalgia, extended kissing scene, and, oh yeah, buckets and buckets of blood."
10) What generic labels have others given the same text?
Another said:" Parents need to know that The Babysitter is a violent, gory, and sometimes even funny movie with a lot of appeal for teen horror fans." This provides a warning for some of the content within the film.
11) Which conventions of the genre do you recognize in the text?
For the comedy genre I recognized the word-play going on in order to lighten the mood and that the characters were joking around when committing a murder or whilst bleeding to death. For the horror genre I recognized the use of blood and weapons when trying to murder the people.
12) To what extent does this text stretch the conventions of its genre?
For the horror genre, the producers have stretched the conventions quite a lot in order to fuse the comedy genre withing those conventions more easily.
13) Where and why does the text depart from the conventions of the genre?
During the beginning ( when playing truth or dare) , the audience did not see any horror aspects because the producers were trying to build the story in order to have a exciting turning point ( when the child saw the babysitters were apart of a cult and performing rituals).
14) Which conventions seem more like those of a different genre (and which genre(s))?
I would say some fight scenes definitely seem more like those within the action genre because they were quite aggressive.
15) What familiar motifs or images are used?
Weapons such as a gun or a baseball bat.
Mode of address
1) What sort of audience did you feel that the text was aimed at (and how typical was this of the genre)?
I believe that this text was aimed at a young target audience mainly consisting of a teen/youth audience (16-27). Even though this film was aimed at a younger audience, I felt as though this film would mainly be enjoyed by the upper end of the teenage audience due to the use of language used and explicit content that may be inappropriate for younger audiences.
2) How does the text address you?
This text addresses me because the characters are relatable and familiar in certain aspects.
3) What sort of person does it assume you are?
It assumes that I am teenager who is currently in High school and may have parents who hire babysitters while they are gone. They would assume I am young person who enjoys their free time while their parents are not home and loves adventures.
4) What assumptions seem to be made about your class, age, gender and ethnicity?
The assumptions seemed to be made are that I fit into middle or upper class because my parents would have a very good job that has a good pay but it requires them to go out on business trips a lot. I would be the age of 15/16-18 preferably a male who enjoys playing video games and loves adventures. It assumes that I am an American teen living in a friendly neighbourhood where everyone knows each other very well.
5) What interests does it assume you have?
As I have mentioned before, it assumes that I like to play video games and enjoy messing around playing with friends instead of studying.
Relationship to other texts
1) What intertextual references are there in the text you are analysing (and to what other texts)?
There are references to the hybrid genre of horror and comedy in order to lighten the atmosphere and to appeal to a teen audience. There is use of violence but comedy aspects within them to make the scene more enjoyable and so that the audiences are not disgusted by the gruesomeness of the scene.
2) Generically, which other texts does the text you are analysing resemble most closely?
A Netflix original film called 'Scouts guide to the Zombie Apocalypse'
3) What key features are shared by these texts?
They both share the fact that there are people trying to murder someone and that the protagonist is on a journey in order to survive. Both protagonists use different methods each time in order to fight the villains and are always moving around in order to keep the narrative moving.
4) What major differences do you notice between them?
The major difference is that 'Scouts guide to the Zombie Apocalypse' includes Zombies where as 'The Babysitter' doesn't include them and instead only includes humans who are trying to kill other humans.
- They use their prior knowledge of the genre to anticipate whether or not they will enjoy a text
- They use their knowledge of genres to reject a text
- Audiences compare a text through it's shared characteristics with another.
6) List three ways genre is used by institutions or producers.
-Producing the text
-Attracting an audience
-Marketing the text
7) What film genre is used as an example of how genres evolve? What films and conventions are mentioned?
The Gangster genre is used as an example to show how genre has been altered over time. Even though they have similarities with the modern equivalent, the modern approach focuses more on what the audience would like to see. New Gangster films share codes with traditional ones they choose to stay up to date with modern audiences interests and the changes in culture.
Read Media Factsheet 126 - Superheroes: A Genre Case Study and answer the following questions:
1) List five films the factsheet discusses with regards to the Superhero genre.
The 5 films discussed are: Superman, Batman Forever, X-Men, Spider-Man 3 and the Dark Knight Rises.
2) What examples are provided of how the Superhero genre has reflected the changing values, ideologies and world events of the last 70 years?
An example is of Superman battling Lex Luther who is a wealthy businessman and media magnate. This character appears first in the 1930s and then again in the 1978 film. It is also significant that Superman was raised in the rural community of Smallville. This sets him up in conflict with greedy, city values. Both timeframes suffered economic depressions. In the 1930s, the blame for the Great Depression was put on the greed of capitalists and the media was identified as being untrustworthy as wealthy capitalists ran it. This anti-corporate feeling was also around at the end of the 70s as industrial disputes put managers and workers in conflict and the West continued the process of industrialising agriculture and de-industrialising manufacturing... both leading to unemployment in the working classes.
3) How can Schatz's theory of genre cycles be applied to the Superhero genre?
Innovation: The visual codes for the superhero genre were established from the comic books. As soon as film and TV began to use the comic book characters other codes and conventions regarding the presentation of the genre in moving image were set. This can be seen in the early superhero shorts of the 1940s.
Classical: By the 1950s the superhero genre could be seen to be in its classical stage with the codes and conventions being replicated in the film and TV programmes of the tim
Parody: Batman (1966) was intentionally funny and wouldn’t let its audience take the superhero too seriously. It had an ironic tone that flagged up the daft nature of the genre and allowed the audience to enjoy the awareness of that. After Batman, the classical and parodic versions of the genre were largely located in children’s animation, from Spider-Man whose animated adventures were on TV from the late 1960s, to the less than serious versions of the genre in Mighty Mouse (a perennially popular cartoon first made in the 1940s), Atom Ant (from the late 60s), Captain Caveman (from the late 70s) amongst many, many more.
Deconstruction: Superman (1978) started a new cycle in the superhero genre with technology leading the innovation with special effects creating more realistic visual ‘miracles’. Both the Superman series and Tim Burton’s Batman franchise treated the fantastic world of the superhero seriously as in the classical era but they also used the camp comedy and a tongue-in-cheek approach of parody showing how the genre had been deconstructed and repackaged in an attempt to revitalise the genre and help it find a new audience - successfully in the case of these two franchises. This brings the genre back to a period of innovation when new ideas and new developments create interesting new ideas within the genre
Finally, carry out your own genre analysis using the model provided by media theorist Daniel Chandler. Choose a film or TV text and answer the following questions:
*Daniel Chandler suggests definitions of genre tend to be based on the notion that they constitute particular conventions of content (such as themes or settings - iconography) and/or form(including structure and style) which are shared by the texts which are regarded as belonging to them.*
General
1) Why did you choose the text you are analysing?
I chose this text because I enjoyed the film and I wasn't quite expecting the film to have comedy aspects to it because it looks like a thriller/ horror movie.
2) In what context did you encounter it?
I heard about it on Snapchat's Daily mail story that Bella Thorne was starring in a new Netflix Original movie.
3) What influence do you think this context might have had on your interpretation of the text?
It had a positive influence because I thought the movie will be really good.
4) To what genre did you initially assign the text?
Initially I assigned this film to the Horror genre because of the film poster but when I watched the trailer I assigned the Comedy genre.
5) What is your experience of this genre?
I like all genres but I don't really watch Horror movies often but the fact that there was an comedy aspect to the film made it more enjoyable to watch.
6) What subject matter and basic themes is the text concerned with?
This film addresses the idea of stereotypes of babysitters and that some babysitters don't do their job properly while the children's parents are not home. This supports the fact that the babysitters in this film were trying to kill the little boy.
7) How typical of the genre is this text in terms of content?
It is quite typical of the Horror genre because the babysitters are trying to murder the child by using all sorts of techniques and the comedy aspect fits in well because the child is smarter than the babysitters and escapes death several times.
8) What expectations do you have about texts in this genre?
I expected things to get gruesome and that there will be a lot of blood being seen within this movie.
9) Have you found any formal generic labels for this particular text (where)?
A critic said: "Loads of appeal here for teen horror-comedy fans: attractive teen characters, inept adults, comic hysteria, childhood nostalgia, extended kissing scene, and, oh yeah, buckets and buckets of blood."
10) What generic labels have others given the same text?
Another said:" Parents need to know that The Babysitter is a violent, gory, and sometimes even funny movie with a lot of appeal for teen horror fans." This provides a warning for some of the content within the film.
11) Which conventions of the genre do you recognize in the text?
For the comedy genre I recognized the word-play going on in order to lighten the mood and that the characters were joking around when committing a murder or whilst bleeding to death. For the horror genre I recognized the use of blood and weapons when trying to murder the people.
12) To what extent does this text stretch the conventions of its genre?
For the horror genre, the producers have stretched the conventions quite a lot in order to fuse the comedy genre withing those conventions more easily.
13) Where and why does the text depart from the conventions of the genre?
During the beginning ( when playing truth or dare) , the audience did not see any horror aspects because the producers were trying to build the story in order to have a exciting turning point ( when the child saw the babysitters were apart of a cult and performing rituals).
14) Which conventions seem more like those of a different genre (and which genre(s))?
I would say some fight scenes definitely seem more like those within the action genre because they were quite aggressive.
15) What familiar motifs or images are used?
Weapons such as a gun or a baseball bat.
Mode of address
1) What sort of audience did you feel that the text was aimed at (and how typical was this of the genre)?
I believe that this text was aimed at a young target audience mainly consisting of a teen/youth audience (16-27). Even though this film was aimed at a younger audience, I felt as though this film would mainly be enjoyed by the upper end of the teenage audience due to the use of language used and explicit content that may be inappropriate for younger audiences.
2) How does the text address you?
This text addresses me because the characters are relatable and familiar in certain aspects.
3) What sort of person does it assume you are?
It assumes that I am teenager who is currently in High school and may have parents who hire babysitters while they are gone. They would assume I am young person who enjoys their free time while their parents are not home and loves adventures.
4) What assumptions seem to be made about your class, age, gender and ethnicity?
The assumptions seemed to be made are that I fit into middle or upper class because my parents would have a very good job that has a good pay but it requires them to go out on business trips a lot. I would be the age of 15/16-18 preferably a male who enjoys playing video games and loves adventures. It assumes that I am an American teen living in a friendly neighbourhood where everyone knows each other very well.
5) What interests does it assume you have?
As I have mentioned before, it assumes that I like to play video games and enjoy messing around playing with friends instead of studying.
Relationship to other texts
1) What intertextual references are there in the text you are analysing (and to what other texts)?
There are references to the hybrid genre of horror and comedy in order to lighten the atmosphere and to appeal to a teen audience. There is use of violence but comedy aspects within them to make the scene more enjoyable and so that the audiences are not disgusted by the gruesomeness of the scene.
2) Generically, which other texts does the text you are analysing resemble most closely?
A Netflix original film called 'Scouts guide to the Zombie Apocalypse'
3) What key features are shared by these texts?
They both share the fact that there are people trying to murder someone and that the protagonist is on a journey in order to survive. Both protagonists use different methods each time in order to fight the villains and are always moving around in order to keep the narrative moving.
4) What major differences do you notice between them?
The major difference is that 'Scouts guide to the Zombie Apocalypse' includes Zombies where as 'The Babysitter' doesn't include them and instead only includes humans who are trying to kill other humans.
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